- grow
- plant
- seed
MA Standards:
Speaking and Listening/SL.PK.MA.2: Recall information for short periods of time and retell, act out, or represent information from a text read aloud, a recording, or a video (e.g., watch a video about birds and their habitats and make drawings or constructions of birds and their nests).
Head Start Outcomes:
Language Development/Receptive Language: Attends to language during conversations, songs, stories, or other learning experiences.
Logic and Reasoning/Reasoning and Problem Solving: Classifies, compares, and contrasts objects, events, and experiences.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
English Language Arts/Language 3: Communicate personal experiences or interests.
English Language Arts/Reading and Literature 12: Listen to, recite, sing, and dramatize a variety of age-appropriate literature.
Science and Technology/Life Sciences 13: Observe and describe ways in which many plants and animals closely resemble their parents in observed appearance.
Watch Together: “Peep Plants a Seed” #1 (PEEP show)
STEM Key Concepts: There are many different types of plants and seeds; Some plants start from seeds; Some plants start from bulbs
ELA Focus Skills: Active Viewing, Speaking and Listening, Vocabulary
Tell children that they are going to watch PEEP and the Big Wide World “Peep Plants a Seed.” Explain that the video is about a sunflower seed that Peep finds. Ask, What do you think he will do with the sunflower seed?
Before You Watch
Set a focus for viewing by asking children to watch for different things Peep, Quack, and Chirp do with the seed. Have children look for things that are similar to what they did when they planted their own seeds.
As You Watch
Model active viewing—name the characters, describe the action, and repeat any featured words. Pause the video after Peep, Chirp, and Quack sit for a while watching the dirt. Ask,
- What do you think they are waiting for?
- What do you think will happen next?
After You Watch
Talk about the video with children. Ask questions such as:
- What observations did Peep, Chirp, and Quack make as the seed grew?
- Did you do any of the same things Peep and his friends did when you planted your seed? What things?
- What kind of a plant grew out of the seed?
Guide children to conclude that the plant was a sunflower because Peep planted a sunflower seed. Say, A new plant will grow up to look like the kind of plant the seed came from.
Educator Tip: With varying age groups, you may need to help younger children understand the difference between living and nonliving things. Point out living things that move and grow and nonliving things that don’t move and grow (book, chair, etc.). Guide children to understand that the sunflower is a living thing because in the video it grows and moves to face the sun.
Educator Tip: Watching and discussing the selected PEEP stories and live-action video clips can spark and extend children’s interest and understanding of plants. We suggest that children watch the video after they have had an opportunity to do their own initial exploration of plants. That way your children can compare their experiences and discoveries with those shown on the video and think about what additional plant explorations they might like to try.
